Animal Farm

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Animal Farm
By George Orwell
Allegory - Satire - Fable
вЂњAll animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.вЂќ
George Orwell
British Author & Journalist
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1903-1950
Born in India
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At that time India was a part of the British
Empire, and Blair's father, Richard, held a post
as an agent in the Opium Department of the
Indian Civil Service.
The Blair family was not very wealthy - Orwell
later described them ironically as "lower-uppermiddle class". They owned no property, had no
extensive investments; they were like many
middle-class English families of the time, totally
dependent on the British Empire for their
livelihood and prospects.
Noted as a novelist and critic, as well as a
political and cultural commentator
One of the most widely admired Englishlanguage essayists of the 20th century
Best known for two novels critical of
totalitarianism in general, and Stalinism in
particular:
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Animal Farm
Nineteen Eighty-Four
вЂњLiberty is telling people what they do not want to hear.вЂќ
1984
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The novel, published in
1949, takes place in 1984
and presents an imaginary
future where a totalitarian
state controls every aspect
of life, even people's
thoughts. The state is
called Oceania and is ruled
by a group known as the
Party; its leader and
dictator is Big Brother.
George Orwell and His Beliefs
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Orwell was a person who had a reputation for standing apart
and even making a virtue of his detachment.
This вЂњoutsiderвЂќ position often led him to oppose the crowd.
OrwellвЂ™s beliefs about politics were affected by his experiences
fighting in the Spanish Civil War.
He viewed socialists, communists, and fascists as repressive
and self-serving.
He was skeptical of governments and their willingness to
forsake ideas in favor of power.
Interesting Fact:
George OrwellвЂ™s real name was Eric Blair.
Why Animals?
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In explaining how he came to write Animal
Farm, Orwell says he once saw a little boy
whipping a horse and later he wrote,
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вЂњIt struck me that if only such animals became aware
of their strength we should have no power over them,
and that men exploit animals in much the same way
as the rich exploit the [worker].вЂќ
George Orwell in India
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He was born in India and
spent his early years
there since his father held
a post there.
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He was a lonely boy who
liked to make up stories
and talk with imaginary
companions.
As an adult, he worked
for the Imperial Police in
British occupied India.
What is Animal Farm?
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A masterpiece of political satire,
Animal Farm is a tale of oppressed
individuals who long for freedom
but ultimately are corrupted by
assuming the very power that had
originally oppressed them.
The story traces the deplorable
conditions of mistreated animals
who can speak and who exhibit
many human characteristics. After
extreme negligence by their owner,
the animals revolt and expel Mr.
Jones and his wife from the farm.
The tale of the society the animals
form into a totalitarian regime is
generally viewed as Orwell's
critique of the communist system in
the former Soviet Union.
Interesting Fact: Orwell initially struggled
to find a publisher for Animal Farm.
Significance Today
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But why вЂ“ now that Soviet Communism
has fallen and the Cold War is over вЂ“
does Animal Farm deserve our
attention? The answer lies in the power
of allegory. Allegorical fables, because
they require us to make comparisons
and connections, can be meaningful to
any reader in any historical period. The
story of Animal Farm will always have
lessons to teach us about the ways
that people abuse power and
manipulate others.
Orwell's chilling story of the betrayal of
idealism through tyranny and
corruption is as fresh and relevant
today as when it was first published in
1945.
ChildrenвЂ™s Book? вЂ“ No!
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After Animal Farm was published in 1945, George
Orwell discovered with horror that booksellers were
placing his novel on childrenвЂ™s shelves. According to
his housekeeper, he began traveling from bookstore
to bookstore requesting that the book be shelved with
adult works. This dual identity вЂ” as childrenвЂ™s story
and adult satire вЂ” has stayed with OrwellвЂ™s novel for
more than fifty years.
The Fable
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The fable is one of the oldest
literary forms - much, much older
than the novel or the short story. A
fable is usually short, written in
either verse or prose, and conveys
a clear moral or message. The
earliest fables still preserved date
back to 6th Century Greece B.C.E.
The author of these fables, Aesop,
used animal characters to stand for
human "types." For example, a fox
character might embody the human
characteristics of cunning and
cleverness. Though Aesop's animal
fables were ostensibly about
animals, they were really
instructional tales about human
emotions and human behavior.
Animal Fables
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The most popular animal fables of
the 20th Century are the Just So
Stories (1902) written by Rudyard
Kipling. Kipling's fables were
adapted by Disney in the movie
The Jungle Book. Orwell admired
Kipling and the Just So Stories
would seem to have influenced the
form of Animal Farm. Orwell took
the short animal fable and
expanded it to the length of a short
novel in the form of an allegory.
Allegory
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Most fables have two levels of meaning. On the surface, the
fable is about animals. But on a second level, the animals
stand for types of people or ideas. The way the animals
interact and the way the plot unfolds says something about
the nature of people or the value of ideas. Any type of
fiction that has multiple levels of meaning in this way is
called an allegory.
Allegory (contвЂ™d)
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Boxer
Animal Farm is strongly allegorical,
but it presents a very nice balance
between levels of meaning. On the
first level, the story about the
animals is very moving. You can be
upset when Boxer is taken away by
the horse slaughterer without being
too aware of what he stands for. But
at the same time, each of the
animals does serve as a symbol. The
story's second level involves the
careful critique Orwell constructed to
comment on Soviet Russia.
Allegory (contвЂ™d)
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Yet there is no reason that
allegory must be limited to
two levels. It is possible to
argue that Animal Farm
also has a third and more
general level of meaning. For
instance, the pigs need not
only represent specific
tyrannical soviet leaders.
They could also be symbols
for tyranny more broadly:
their qualities are therefore
not simply the historical
characteristics of a set of
actual men but are the
qualities of all leaders who
rely on repression and
manipulation.
Squealer, Snowball, & Napoleon
Satire
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In a satire, the writer
attacks a serious issue by
presenting it in a ridiculous
light or otherwise poking fun
at it. Orwell uses satire to
expose what he saw as the
myth of Soviet socialism.
Thus, the novel tells a story
that people of all ages can
understand, but it also tells
us a second storyвЂ” that of
the real-life revolution.
Soviet Coat of Arms
Irony
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Irony results when there is a disparity
between what an audience would
expect and what really happens.
Orwell uses a particular type of irony вЂ“
dramatic irony. He relies on the
difference between what the animals
understand and what we, the
Snowball below the commandments.
audience, can conclude about the
situation at Animal Farm.
We know just what the animals know,
but we can see so much more of its
significance than they can. The
conclusions we reach that the animals
never quite get to вЂ“ that the pigs are
decadent, corrupt, and immoral вЂ“ are
all the more powerful because we
arrive at them ourselves, without the
narrator pointing these things out
directly.
Napoleon overindulging himself.
Irony (contвЂ™d)
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Orwell uses dramatic irony to
create a particularly subtle
satire. Satire stages a
critique of an individual,
group, or idea by
exaggerating faults and
revealing hypocrisies. The
dramatic irony of Animal
Farm achieves this aim
indirectly. We see the
hypocrisy that the animals
don't and therefore
understand in this backward
fashion that the book is
deeply critical of the pigs.
When History and Literature Merge
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Critics often consider Animal Farm to
be an allegory of the Russian
Revolution. In the early 1900s,
RussiaвЂ™s Czar Nicholas II faced an
increasingly discontented populace.
Freed from feudal serfdom in 1861,
many Russian peasants were
struggling to survive under an
oppressive government. By 1917,
amidst the tremendous suffering of
World War I, a revolution began. In
two major battles, the CzarвЂ™s
government was overthrown and
replaced by the Bolshevik leadership
of Vladimir Lenin. When Lenin died in
1924, his former colleagues Leon
Trotsky, hero of the early Revolution,
and Joseph Stalin, head of the
Communist Party, struggled for
power. Stalin won the battle, and he
deported Trotsky into permanent
exile.
Czar Nicholas II
Vladimir Lenin
Joseph Stalin
Leon Trotsky
Joseph Stalin
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Once in power, Stalin began, with
despotic urgency and exalted
nationalism, to move the Soviet Union
into the modern industrial age. His
government seized land in order to
create collective farms. StalinвЂ™s Five Year
Plan was an attempt to modernize
Soviet industry. Many peasants refused
to give up their land, so to counter
resistance Stalin used vicious military
tactics. Rigged trials led to executions of
an estimated 20 million government
officials and ordinary citizens. The
government controlled the flow and
content of information to the people,
and all but outlawed churches.
Joseph Stalin
Napoleon = Joseph Stalin
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Napoleon
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Boar who leads the rebellion against
Farmer Jones
After the rebellionвЂ™s success, he
systematically begins to control all
aspects of the farm until he is an
undisputed tyrant.
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Joseph Stain
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The communist dictator of the Soviet
Union from 1922-1953 who killed all
who opposed him.
He loved power and used the KGB
(secret police) to enforce his ruthless,
corrupt antics.
Farmer Jones = Czar Nicholas II
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Farmer Jones
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The irresponsible owner of the
farm
Lets his animals starve and beats
them with a whip
Sometimes shows random
kindness
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Czar Nicholas II
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Weak Russian leader during the
early 1900s
Often cruel and brutal to his
subjects
Displays isolated kindess
Snowball = Leon Trotsky
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Snowball
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Boar who becomes one of the
rebellionвЂ™s most valuable leaders.
After drawing complicated plans
for the construction of a windmill,
he is chased off of the farm
forever by NapoleonвЂ™s dogs and
thereafter used as a scapegoat for
the animalsвЂ™ troubles.
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Leon Trotsky
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A pure communist leader who was
influenced by the teachings of Karl
Marx.
He wanted to improve life for
people in Russia, but was driven
away by LeninвЂ™s KGB.
Characters
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Old Major
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An old boar whose speech about
the evils perpetrated by humans
rouses the animals into rebelling.
His philosophy concerning the
tyranny of Man is named
Animalism.
He teaches the animals the song
вЂњBeasts of EnglandвЂќ
Dies before revolution
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Karl Marx
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The inventor of communism
Wants to unite the working class
to overthrow the government.
Dies before the Russian
Revolution
Who is Karl Marx?
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Many of the ideals behind the
Soviet revolution were based on
the writings and teachings of Karl
Marx. A German intellectual who
lived in the mid-1800s, Marx
believed that societies are divided
into two segments, a working class
and an owner class. The working
class creates all the products,
while the owner class enjoys all
the benefits of these products.
This class division leads to
inequality and oppression of the
working class. MarxвЂ™s objective
was to create a classless society in
which the work is shared by all for
the benefit of all, and he believed
revolution was the way to achieve
this goal.
Characterization in Fables
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We already know that a fable is a narration intended to enforce a useful truth.
Fables have two important characteristics. First, they teach a moral or lesson.
In Animal Farm, the moral involves OrwellвЂ™s views about Soviet politics.
Second, the characters are most frequently animals. These animal characters
often function as a satiric device to point out the follies of humankind. Though
Old Major, Snowball, and Napoleon may represent Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, and
Joseph Stalin, many of the story characters are much more general. Some
animals are grouped together as a single characterвЂ”вЂњthe sheep,вЂќ вЂњthe hens,вЂќ
and вЂњthe dogs.вЂќ Orwell also capitalizes on the traits generally associated with
particular animals, such as sheep as followers and dogs as loyal.
Squealer & Boxer
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Squealer
пЃ® A big mouth pig who becomes NapoleonвЂ™s
mouthpiece. Throughout the novel, he displays
his ability to manipulate the animalsвЂ™ thoughts
through the use of hollow, yet convincing
rhetoric.
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worked to support StalinвЂ™s image; the members
of the department would use lies to convince
the people to follow Stalin.
Boxer
пЃ® A dedicated but dimwitted horse who aids in
the building of the windmill but is sold to a
glue-boiler after collapsing from exhaustion.
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communist supporters of Stalin. Many stayed
loyal even after it was obvious Stalin was a
tyrant. Eventually they were betrayed,
ignored, and even killed by him.
Squealer
Boxer
Jessie & Moses
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Jessie
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on the pigs and is among the first to
suspect that something is wrong at
Animal Farm.
Moses
пЃ® A tame raven and sometimes-pet of
Jones who tells the animals stories
about a paradise called Sugarcandy
Mountain.
пЃ® Moses represents religion. Stalin used
religious principles to influence people
to work and to avoid revolt.
Jessie
Moses
More Characters
Pilkington
Jones' neighbor, he finds a way to profit from Animal Farm by forming an
alliance with the pigs.
Muriel
A goat who believes in the rebellion, she watches as Animal Farm slips
away from its founding principles.
Mollie
A vain horse who resists the animal rebellion because she doesn't want to
give up the petting and treats she receives from humans. Mollie represents
vain, selfish people in Russia and throughout the world who ignored the
revolution and sought residence in more inviting countries.
Benjamin
The most cynical of all the animals, the farm's donkey doubts the leadership
of the pigs but is faithfully devoted to Boxer. Benjamin represents all the
skeptical people in Russia and elsewhere who werenвЂ™t sure revolution would
change anything.
The Sheep
Not tremendously clever, the sheep remind themselves of the principles of
animalism by chanting "four legs good, two legs bad."
The Dogs
NapoleonвЂ™s private army that used fear to force the animals to work; they killed
any opponent of Napoleon. The dogs represent StalinвЂ™s loyal KGB (secret
police). The KGB were not really police, but mercenaries used to force
support for Stalin.
Animalism = Communism
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Animalism
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Taught my Old Major
No rich, but no poor
Better life for workers
All animals are equal
Everyone owns the
farm
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Communism
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Invented by Karl Marx
All people are equal
Government owns
everything
People own the
government
Animal Farm Revolution
= Russian Revolution
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Animal Farm Revolution
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Was supposed to make life
better for all, but . . .
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Life was worse at the end.
The leaders became the
same as, or worse than the
other farmers (humans) they
rebelled against.
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Russian Revolution
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Was supposed to fix the
problems created by the
Czar, but . . .
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Life was even worse after
the revolution.
Stalin made the Czar look
like a nice guy.
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